US Stock Futures Crash: Nasdaq Futures Fall 450 Pts, DJIA Drop 1%; Can A Trump-Xi-Putin Meet Lift Wall Street?

The US stock futures declined sharply on Thursday as investors digested a potential meeting buzz between three super leaders, US President Donald Trump, Russia President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping. Putin has expressed "all for" a trilateral meeting, while Trump also signalled a similar opinion. However, a lot will depend upon whether the three countries can agree on some agendas.

The three leaders are expected to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, and whether the three decide to hold a separate sit-down will be keenly watched. Another key factor that will impact Wall Street is the upcoming US Federal Reserve's policy where market is expecting the status quo. However, crude oil prices are skyrocketing and energy crisis is simply unbending, keeping inflation cost high and unbearable. So, whether Fed can avoid a rate hike in October is what investors will watch.

US Stock Futures Today, October 22, 2026

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones futures dropped by 200 points or 0.4% to trade at 52,859, while the Nasdaq 100 futures crashed by 450 points or 1.50% to trade at 29,558.25. Also, the S&P 500 futures dropped by 0.81% or 63.25 points to trade around 7,737.

Investors assessed the latest earnings report of giants like Meta Platforms, Tesla, SpaceX and Netflix. Futures faced steep selloffs as crude oil prices advanced sharply.

The US WTI crude oil price soared by 2% to trade above $99 per level, while the Brent crude rallied by 2.2% to breach over $111 per barrel level.

Crude oil advanced following a drone strike on Saudi Aramco's Shaybah field that killed two people, while the US ordered some personnel and family members to leave American embassies in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged next week, after Chair Kevin Warsh's remarks last Friday did little to alter expectations for a pause. However, markets continued to anticipate a potential Fed rate hike in December amid persistent energy-driven inflation. The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan are also expected to maintain their current interest rates next week, as per Trading Economics.

Trump-Xi-Putin Meeting To Play Major Role

The three leaders' meeting is crucial for geopolitical risks that have succumbed to the global economy over the past few years, especially intensifying in 2026. The meeting is expected to be beneficial for Putin, who has been at war with Ukraine for five years now. As per reports, the meeting with Xi and Trump in the same room would come as a potential symbol, and international powers were looking to de-isolate Russia since it's all-out war against Ukraine.

Putin said, "[A trilateral meeting is] certainly possible. To a large extent, this will depend on China as the host of the event."

Trump gave thumbs up to a potential trilateral meeting as well. However, he also signalled that the meeting would not be so much for Ukraine and would largely surface around "denuclearization" --- something that Jinping has been resisting for negotiations.

Iran, which has been at war with the USA since early 2026, is an ally of both Russia and China.

As per the South China Morning Post, Wang Wen, dean of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University, said the agenda would set the tone for any summit and determine its success. Wang said, "The agenda is the critical lever for whether a meeting can actually take place."

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters that, "Given that all three heads of state may potentially take part ​in the summit in China, the subject of such a hypothetical meeting was indeed raised. It was raised, but no specific proposals or agreements were discussed or put forward by anyone, ​either regarding the meeting itself or the possible agenda and content of that ​meeting."

However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha criticised the idea of a trilateral meeting between the three.

Wall Street Outlook

Yesterday, the Dow Jones gained by 360.21 points or 0.7% to end at 52,856.09, while the Nasdaq Composite index soared by 278.04 points or 1.05% to close at 26,702.86. S&P 500 also edged higher by 44.60 points or 0.6% to end at 7,757.17.

The upbeat earnings of SpaceX and Super Micro Computer restored investors' optimism over AI demand ahead. SpaceX stock gained by more than 12% after a strong earnings report before correcting at closing bell. This rocket stock rallied 8%. Another key factor to boost the stock is Elon Musk's remarks over merging SpaceX and Tesla to be a "good idea".

"Overnight, Wall Street rallied as SpaceX's stronger-than-expected profit revived AI sentiment: the S&P 500 rose 0.6%, the Dow 0.7% and the Nasdaq 1.1%, but the global macro setup still remains highly challenging. With Brent crude sustaining near $110 and US bond yields holding above 5.12%, relentless foreign outflows are forcing domestic liquidity to defend lower levels," said Hemang Gor, Senior Research Analyst - Derivatives and Technical Research, Axis Direct.

Furthermore, Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth said, persistently expensive crude may reinforce domestic inflation concerns and delay expectations of policy support, while elevated US yields could keep foreign capital tilted toward dollar assets. Unless both indicators retreat meaningfully, opening declines may attract only tactical buying rather than signal a durable reversal.

Additionally, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money said, escalating US-Iran tensions and reports of attacks on Saudi infrastructure have heightened concerns over prolonged disruptions to Middle Eastern energy supplies. Uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz remains a key risk, with any further escalation likely to push crude prices higher and trigger renewed volatility across global markets. A meaningful easing of tensions, however, could help moderate the risk premium embedded in oil prices.

Hence, for Wall Street a lot will depend upon the movement of crude oil, treasury yields, dollar and geopolitical development in Middle East. If the Trump-Xi-Putin summit can halt even one war either between Russia-Ukraine or USA-Iran, that will eventually be the lifting factor. However, unclarity over the trio's meeting will do little to shake Wall Street.

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